Healing A Cracked Shell
by Shell-Shocked-NinjaTurtleGal
Summary: Raph has been dealing with his cracked shell alone, not wanting to bother anyone with the pain he has thanks to the injury. One early morning, wanting to get in extra training, Raph runs into Leo, who notices Raph's unhealed shell in not-so-good condition. This leads to Leo helping out Raph by patching up his shell. Not tcest. 2k14 verse.


**Hey! I saw the TMNT 2k14 movie and was totally inspired, so I wrote this! Sorry if there's any spelling errors, because spellcheck sometimes switches around my words x.x Also, the characters may act a tiny bit OOC. If they are, please tell me how I can make them less OOC in future stories! **

**There are a few Japanese words in this one-shot, but no need to worry! I put translations at the bottom!**

**Enjoy reading! Please review!**

* * *

Raph winced, his shell and back aching in protest as he stretched his arms above his head. Ever since the battle against the Shredder the week before, in which his shell had been cracked, Raph had been struggling with regular pain. Not that he'd tell his brothers or Master Splinter though, he was tough enough to handle his own problems, and besides, they were still recovering as well.

With a sigh, Raph rubbed at his shell.

"Time t' break out th' duct tape 'gain." He muttered to himself with a scowl.

Maybe he should've stayed in bed instead of trying to get a jump-start on the day like he'd intended...

"Raph?"

The red-clad turtle turned quickly, shoulders tense and slight alarm on his face. He relaxed, though, when he saw it was only his older brother.

"Leo." He said, giving a slightly amused, slightly irritated huff. "Scare th' shell off'a me, why don'cha?"

Calm blue eyes regarded him humorously, and a soft smile pulled Leo's lips.

"I thought you heard me coming down the stairs. Sorry."

Raph sat at the kitchen table, leaning back carefully in his chair, while Leo crossed the kitchen, pulling a kettle from one of the cabinets and beginning to prepare some tea for himself. For awhile, the only sounds were Raph occasionally shifting in his seat, the bubbling water that boiled in the kettle, and Leo shuffling about the room. It was odd, Raph mused, how he and Leo argued all the time and yet, at times like this, they got along perfectly fine. The red-banded terrapin couldn't deny he was closest to Leo out of his three brothers.

Finally, Leo broke the relative silence, turning to face his immediate younger brother and leaning against the counter behind him.

"So, what's got you up so early?"

Raph's shoulders lifted in a small shrug. The motion made a spark of pain jolt through his back, and he winced slightly.

"Eh, nothin' much. Thought I'd try an' get in some extra trainin'."

"Ah, so _that's _why you've been sulking in kitchen." Leo said, raising an eye-ridge, a smirk playing at his face. Raph scowled, crossing his arms over his plastron and leaning back in his chair.

"Yeahyeah, laugh it up." He grumbled, reaching back to tighten the knot of his bandana. He flinched violently as another flash of pain lit his senses, and he rubbed at his shoulder with a frown. He glanced up, hoping Leo hadn't noticed.

But that idea went down the drain as his deep, green eyes met Leo's own worried, bright sapphire gaze.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked, moving forward slightly.

"N-nothin'."

A raised eye-ridge.

"Wha'?" The red-clad turtle muttered. "I'm tellin' ya, it's nothin'!"

He then jumped in alarm as Leo's hand grabbed him, and a sharp tug on his wrist pulled him to his feet, and a second later Raph felt large, callused fingers carefully feel along his shell. A hiss of pain left him as pain shot through him.

"Ow! Cut it out! Ouch- Stop that!"

His protests were ignored as Leo continued to search, feeling out each crack in his younger brother's still healing shell. The usual bright red paint that marked Japanese characters on Raph's shell was now dull and faded, and the duct tape had been peeled off the night before, it seemed, and although healing, the progress was slow.

Raph jerked away, turning to face his brother (and trying to protect his poor, aching back). The two brothers met each other's eyes once more, one set defiant, the other concerned.

"Have you talked to Don?" Leo asked, jutting his chin towards Raph's turned shell. The younger terrapin scowled, looking away with a small huff blowing past his lips.

"Naw. Didn' wanna bother 'im. I'm fine."

"It doesn't _look _fine. Have you just been taping it up?"

A snort of derision.

"Course. Not much else I can do, now is there?"

Leo sighed, shaking his head to himself. He turned to the stove, crossing over and removing the softly whistling kettle, but instead of retrieving any tea leaves, he turned back to Raph.

"Come on." He said quietly, nodding towards the den as he strode out of the kitchen. Raph wondered, for a moment, whether he should actually listen to his older brother. True, he usually didn't, but he couldn't deny he wanted to know what Leo was up to. In the end, his curiosity won over his stubbornness, and he followed the direction his brother had left.

Leo had retrieved the first-aid kit, and pointed towards the couch.

"Lay down." He ordered, though his voice was soft, ensuring Raph's temper remained cool.

"I'm tellin' ya, I'm _fine_." The younger insisted, rolling his shoulders carefully.

Leo shook his head slightly.

"I never said you weren't. Please, just do this for me? Put your crazy, over-protective brother's mind at ease?"

Raph grimaced, rubbing the back of his head. This was embarrassing, it felt _juvenile_, a 'letting his big brother take care of his boo-boo' kind of thing. Yet Raph knew Leo well. His bro wouldn't press the issue like this unless it really mattered to him. Finally, the red-banded turtle sighed. The way Leo had said it even made it sound like Raph would be doing him a favor, letting him tend to his cracked shell.

"Fine." The younger turtle grumbled, shuffling grudgingly towards the old, second-hand couch. "But only 'cause ya won't git off my shell 'bout it."

Leo smiled slightly, nodding.

"Thanks."

Raph situated himself, laying on his plastron, carefully folding his arms underneath his chin. His shins and feet dangled over the edge of one arm rest. The sight was probably absurd, but Leo said nothing, simply kneeling beside the couch, setting out the first-aid kit he'd retrieved from Don's presently empty lab. Once more, Raph felt gentle, sure hands feel along his shell in search of any hidden chips or cracks. For a moment, the red-clad terrapin felt a sense of nostalgia, remembering how when he and the others had been younger and had nightmares, Splinter would pet their shells. Later on, when they felt guilty about waking Splinter in the middle of the night, Leo had offered to sooth them instead.

Raph distinctively remembered one night, when he'd been eight, he'd had a horrible dream and snuck into Leo's room. His big brother had been more than happy to let little Raph climb up next to him on his bed and petted his shell, humming a wordless tune until Raph had fallen asleep once more...

The short-tempered terrapin was pulled from his reverie when a sharp spike of pain shot through him, and he drew in a sharp breath that audibly hissed past his teeth. Leo gave him an apologetic grimace, his hands drawing back from the still healing shell.

"_Gomenasai_." He said, voice soft and warm, easing Raph's slightly frayed nerves._  
_

"'S fine." He muttered, eyes turning forward once more.

Bright blue eyes examined his face for a moment, then Leo nodded before grabbing a bottle of antiseptic and a clean washcloth.

"It looks like it may be slightly infected in some places, so I need to clean the cracks. It'll hurt, just warning you now." Leo warned, wetting the cloth with the bottle's contents.

Raph merely grunted, eyes remaining locked on the far wall. The toothpick poking from his lips shifted about as he rolled it between his teeth. Large, bulging muscle bunched beneath dark green skin as the red-clad turtle prepared for the familiar sting of hydrogen peroxide on an open wound.

The younger turtle didn't make a sound as Leo carefully dabbed and wiped at the cracks that split his shell. Everything was silent, everyone else asleep while Leo and Raph just didn't have anything to say. Raph's shell ached, with spikes of pain here and there. He could feel the antiseptic bubble in the cracks of his shell and seep into the small cuts beneath, where the fragments of shell had sliced into the delicate skin underneath.

After a few minutes, Leo spoke.

"Why didn't you go to Donnie?"

Raph groaned. Great. Time for a lecture, it seemed.

"Didn' wanna bother 'im." He replied shortly, staring at the wall, the floor, the door to the dojo...Anywhere but at Leo. He'd probably have that disappointed look and-

"I see."

Raph looked up in alarm. 'I see'? That was it?

Another moment of silence, with Leo dabbing at a large crack in the shell. He soon spoke again.

"Well then just come to me next time."

Raph turned slightly, propped up a bit on his elbows as he looked at Leo, confused and surprised.

"Huh?"

Bright eyes turned to the red-banded face.

"I said 'come to me next time'. I know enough first-aid to help you with these sorts of injuries, and, well, come on!" He lightly nudged Raph's arm with his wrist, smiling. "I'm never too busy for my _Otouto_."

Raph let a small smile touch his face as he lay back down, letting Leo return to tending his aching shell. He'd never admit it, but he found it soothing when his brother would speak in the curling lilt of Japanese in the kind, warm tone only used around his family.

Leo set aside the rag, grabbing a roll of medical tape. He went about taping up Raph's shell, hands gentle around the painful cracks and chips.

"This should hold up throughout the day, but I'll need to re-apply the tape tomorrow." The blue-banded turtle said, voice still low as to ensure he didn't wake the others. "And a slight infection settled in around the center of your shell, it'll need a good few doses of antiseptic for the next week."

"I can handle it." Raph replied, shifting slightly.

Leo gave him a look.

"It's infected because you can't reach it when you try to clean your shell."

Raph scowled, huffing.

"Not my fault."

Leo chuckled softly, a smile pulling at his lips, eyes gentle.

"I never said that it was." He retorted, replacing the medical tape and pulling out a large roll of gauze from the kit. "My point is that you'll need someone to clean the cracks for you. If you won't go to Donnie, then come to me. You know me, if I'm not training, I'm meditating. I have more than enough time to help."

Raph nodded hesitantly, resting his head on his folded arms once more. Leo leaned sideways slightly to look at his brother's face.

"So you'll come to me if you have problems with your shell, right?"

Emerarld eyes flickered to the older terrapin's face, taking in the worry that hid behind a calm facade. Leo was honestly worried about him, Raph realized. He just wanted to help.

Sighing, Raph nodded.

"_Hai, oniichan_." He mumbled.

Another smile lit Leo's features as he straightened, wrapping up his little brother's shell with the thick gauze he held.

"_Arigato, Otouto_."

Everything was quiet as Leo finished his work, and Raph felt the pain in his shell and back lessen, if only slightly. When the older of the two was done, Raph was finally allowed to sit up.

"Stay here for a sec." The blue eyed turtle instructed, standing. Raph grunted in affirmation, rolling his shoulders to try and relieve the ache in his muscles. He watched as Leo dissapeared into the kitchen, only to return after a moment with a glass of water.

The older of the two offered the glass to Raph, waiting for the larger turtle to take it. Once it was securely in Raph's grip, Leo turned to the first-aid kit that waited on the coffee table. Large, callused green fingers skimmed over the tops of several pill containers before settling on one in particular.

"Ah, there it is." Leo whispered to himself, carefully pulling out the white plastic bottle. He looked at the label, ensuring it really _was_ the container he'd been searching for. He glanced up at Raph. "Four pills sound about right?"

The larger yet younger turtle grunted, standing and peering at the label as well. He recognized the name easily. Strong painkillers that they all used frequently if they had a semi-serious injury. Four sounded right, either four or five, but his bet was on four.

"Yeah, sounds 'bout righ'."

Leo nodded, twisting off the cap. Raph held out a hand, and Leo carefully dumped out four small pills into the large palm.

Popping them in his mouth, Raph downed them with a large swig from the glass. Leo smiled, taking the waterglass back.

"Give it half an hour." He instructed his younger brother. "And try to stay off your shell if you can, no bench presses or anything like that."

"Got it." Raph replied shortly, carefully stretching his arms above his head.

For a moment, Raph watched his brother put everything back into the first-aid kit, before speaking up once more.

"Y'know, this reminds me when we was all kids."

Leo looked up from the kit, surprised. Raph rarely engaged in idle talk...

Smiling, Leo raised an eye-ridge As he turned back to the coffee table, continuing to replace the medical supplies in the large kit.

"Oh? How so?"

Raph sat back down with a huff on the couch, crossing his arms over his broad chest.

"Tha' time ev'ryone got sick but you. How ol' were we, seven? Mike was prob'ly six. Ya took care of us all, ev'n Master Splinta'." A short bark of laughter left Raph. "Still dunno how ya did it. Takin' care o' us all, even though you were comin' down with it too."

Leo glanced at Raph, slightly alarmed. He remembered that time, and he'd hidden his own condition then, even from Splinter. Raph smirked.

"Don' look'it me like tha'. I know you, Mike and Don like th' back of my hand." The green eyed terrapin said smugly, lifting a green fist as though to prove his point. "You we're catchin' the bug we all got, but ya hid it an' jus' went righ' on takin' care of us."

A small, fond grin touched Leo's lips as he finished packing up the kit. He stood, grabbing the used cloth. Raph stood as well, following the older into the kitchen. He leaned on one of the counters, watching Leo wash the hydrogen peroxide, puss and small traces of blood that had been gathered when cleaning Raph's wounds. The red-clad terrapin continued speaking.

"Ya made us drink tha' nasty tea-"

"That 'nasty tea', as I recall, helped clear everyone's throats out. Even _yours_."

Raph ignored the interruption.

"Ya cleaned our shells, made sure we neva' were too hot 'r cold. I jus' don' git ya sometimes, y'know tha'?"

Leo once more raised an eye-ridge as he glanced at his bro.

"What do you mean?"

Raph snorted, hoisting himself up to sit on the counter.

"Ya don' care when _yer_ th' one who's hurt, but one of us gits a lil' cut up an' ya go berserk."

A pause, then Leo broke down into a fit of laughter. He leaned his hands on the edge of the counter sink, head dipped and shoulders wracking with each laugh. Raph grinned widely, watching his usually so uptight brother actually relax. After a good two minutes or so, Leo's laughter died down into a few chuckles.

"I wouldn't say..._berserk_." He managed through a couple laughs.

Raph rolled his eyes, pulling the toothpick out from between his teeth.

"Uh-huh." He replied dryly, unconvinced.

Finished with cleaning the washcloth, Leo draped it over he back of one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He then sighed.

"Well, that should do it." He said to himself, stretching his arms and then rolling his shoulders. "Guess I should get back to training."

Raph paused, seeming to hesitate as Leo started to leave.

"'Ey, Leo."

The blue-clad turtle halted, turning to look at Raph once more.

"_Hai_?"

Another moment of hesitation.

"Ya...Ya mind if I train with ya? Could spar."

Leo's eyes seemed to light up slightly.

"Sure, that sounds great."

Raph grinned crookedly, hopping down from the counter and walking beside Leo towards the dojo.

"'Ey...Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks."

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**Translation for Japanese words!:**

**Hai = Yes**

**Otouto = Little Brother**

**Gomenasai = Sorry**

**Arigato = Thanks/Thank You**

**Oniichan = Big Brother**


End file.
